If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
New information from the House Budget Committee shows that Chairman Ryan's planned cuts in SNAP (formerly food stamps) are even more draconian than we originally thought.
Congressman Ryan's Pell grant proposal does not demonstrate a commitment to the most needy. It demonstrates that his perception of college students reflects his own experience as a full-time financially dependent student in the early 90s.
Ryan's proposal seems more like sleight of hand than legitimate cost control. It's about weakening Medicare, not strengthening the program for future generations.
Remember 2012 when America was awash in "legitimate rape" stories? Seems some of the networks forgot that rape is rape and that all survivors deserve justice. So to our friends in the media right and left, here is a refresher course: Rape is rape.
The party is likely only to become more extreme, not less, for at least the next couple of political cycles. No amount of charm, or compromise, or whatever is going to change these dynamics.
As long as the right keeps doing what it keeps doing, the great conservative crack-up will bring two big winners: Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi.
The American people don't serve Paul Ryan. They're not "The Help." He's "The Help." And right now, by demanding austerity that Americans already rejected, Paul Ryan is back-talking the boss. It's insolent, insubordinate and disrespectful.
The Ryan budget -- love it or hate it -- at least recognizes that we can't afford anachronistic financial plans. If we try to, we do exactly what we must not: deplete the programs and leave those most in need without a safety net.
Want to cut something like $850 billion from the next 10 years of budgeting? End the War. There's a novel budget-cutting idea, eh, folks? The Drug War has now cost us roughly the same amount as the Iraq War, to put it in context -- $2 trillion each.
Monday will be a big day for Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican Party. He will announce the results of a task force he convened, following last November's election, which he asked to "figure out what we can do to grow our party and win more elections."
I'd been discussing the absolute non-reality of his proposal -- how the numbers don't begin to add up, the unrealistic budget cuts, the plethora of magic asterisks in the absence of actual proposals -- and the interviewer was like, "OK... but if you're right, why is his budget front page news?"
If Congressman Ryan really wants to get serious about cutting spending, he should look to the one U.S. President who has squeezed the federal budget, and squeezed hard. So, who can Congressman Ryan look to for inspiration on how to actually cut spending? None other than President Bill Clinton.
The problem isn't that we can't fix our economy. The problem is we won't. And until we change the primitive culture of our politicians and media, our citizens will suffer the consequences.
How can we explain why both under Bush and Obama, Wall Street has grown even larger -- so large that even Eric Holder admits they are too big to prosecute?
The budget that Senate Budget Committee Chair Patty Murray released yesterday stands in sharp contrast to the one that her House counterpart, Paul Ryan, released on Tuesday. Hers is more appropriate to meet the nation's economic and fiscal challenges.
Given the extent to which this part of the budget is already shrinking, there's simply no way to cut it by more than an additional $1 trillion without causing significant harm both now and in the future.
